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Adopt a Composer 2017/18

Submitted by lindsay on Fri, 2017-10-06 15:50

Adopt a Composer Scheme The premiere performance of Esmeralda's composition, "the other ocean" took place on November 18th at the Attenborough Centre, University of Sussex, before a large appreciative audience. Lindsay and Esmeralda celebrated the success of an excellent collaboration .

The event was recorded by BBC Radio 3 and interviews with Esmeralda, Lindsay and Chris can be heard in this video.

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The Fretful Federation Mandolin Orchestra is thrilled to announce that they have been selected for the Adopt a Composer Scheme 2017/2018. One of seven groups to have come through the competitive process, they have been paired with composer, Esmeralda Conde Ruiz. They now begin a journey together which will result in a brand new piece of music written especially for them and eventually available to the world! The premiere of the work next year will be recorded and aired by BBC Radio 3. We will be mentored by Fraser Trainer who has been involved in the scheme for a number of years. Esmeralda is a multi-award winning composer and conductor. In 2015 she won the award for ‘Best Original Music’ at Los Angeles Independent Film Festival and ‘Award of Excellence for Best Score’ at Indie Fest Film Awards for her unique soundtrack of British short film ‘Cusp’. Additionally she runs interdisciplinary choral projects, conducting a 500 strong choir of community voices at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall and collaborating with leading composers, contemporary artists and musicians all over the world including David Lang, Matthew Herbert, Susan Philipsz, Peter Liversidge, Mira Calix and many others. www.econderuiz.com The launch on September 30th was attended by Lindsay and Jacky who were excited to meet Esmeralda and Fraser along with the six other composers and representatives from the other music groups. Presentations were given by previous winners of this amazing scheme. For more information see - https://www.makingmusic.org.uk/news/meet-2017-adopt-composer-pairings This scheme offers leisure-time musicians the chance to work directly with a composer, become actively involved in the creative process and contribute to the development of new music. The composer, in return, has the opportunity to form a close working relationship with the ensemble – with the time to respond to the groups personalities and interests; an opportunity not always possible in professional commissions. Adopt a Composer is run by Making Music in partnership with Sound and Music (the national agency for new music), in association with BBC Radio 3, and funded by PRS Foundation and the Philip and Dorothy Green Music Trust. For the second time Creative Scotland has provided additional funding for a Scottish project. Read Lindsay's blog about this here :- https://www.makingmusic.org.uk/news/nothing-fret-about Esmeralda's is here :- https://www.makingmusic.org.uk/news/blind-dating-orchestra PRESS RELEASE August 2018 Esmeralda Conde Ruiz and The Fretful Federation Mandolin Orchestra announce the World premiere of 'The other ocean’, a unique silent film and musical accompaniment performed live creating a musical and visual journey through time. The performance takes place at Brighton’s Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts on November 18th as part of this year’s Cinecity Film Festival. Esmeralda Conde Ruiz has worked with Screen Archive South East at the University of Brighton to select seven pieces from its collection and used them to create the new film and score. The film fuses moving images of people and places from the region with the orchestra’s interests in childhood memories. Esmeralda Conde Ruiz will be in conversation before the performance with Screen Archive South East’s Director Dr Frank Gray and the Mandolin Orchestra’s Conductor and Artistic Director Lindsay Stoner about the project’s process and the nature of the collaboration. Esmeralda Conde Ruiz says: I created ‘The other ocean’ to explore memories through music and images. We all might see the same image but it will trigger a complete different memory and that duality fascinates me. What makes the piece so special for me is the combination of real memories from Brighton and the South East combined with memories of the Fretful Federation Mandolin Orchestra, who all live in the region. The show will be a unique opportunity for the audience to connect with their own memories in exciting new ways. Frank Gray, Director of Screen Archive South East says: For over 25 years, we have developed a public collection of regional films for educational and creative use. Working with artists is always an exciting journey of discovery for us as each project presents a new opportunity to see one or more of our films very differently. In this case, ‘The other ocean' re-purposes seven silent films made from 1927 to 1954 through Esmeralda’s creation of a new film compilation, her new score and its interpretation by the FFMO. This unique live cinema event presents a remarkable and innovative fusion of moving images with a new soundscape. Who knows how its alchemy will affect our senses and our memories. Lindsay Stoner Fretful Federation Mandolin Orchestra Conductor and Artistic Director says: This is a wonderful opportunity thanks to Making Music and a fabulous musical journey for the orchestra. We are thrilled to be working with Esmeralda and look forward to sharing her music and creative vision on 18th November. We have never worked with film before and are grateful to SASE for all of their hard work and input with this project. It will be an unforgettable event and a major achievement for us. See our events page for more details.

Comments

We have now had our first workshop with Esmeralda and Fraser. The idea was for us to get to know each other better and to explore the possibilities for our instruments as Esmeralda had not worked with them before. We all had an opportunity to make suggestions about the piece she writes for us and to give her ideas as to what we might enjoy playing. We finished off with some good socialising over some excellent refreshments.